'Excellence' winners shine brightly

Multi-sport athletes who excel as deeply in the classroom as on the field and students who succeeded despite loss or disability.

These students were among the 60 high school seniors honored, along with their most inspiring teacher, at the Savannah Morning News Awards of Excellence ceremony Thursday night.

Three students took home top honors and $1,000 checks to aid their further studies or life after high school.

One of those winners, Shanice Strobhart, never thought college was a possibility.

But the Beaufort High School senior, who works as a housekeeper in the summer, has a 4.91 grade-point average and is ranked second in her class.

"It's a blessing," Strobhart said of the award. "I always thought it was straight into the work force."

She plans to study biology at the University of Miami, then head to medical school. She credits her teachers, her best friend and her guidance counselor for motivating her to succeed beyond her expectations.

"The importance of this award is that it recognizes students who have excelled despite a lot of obstacles that were thrown in their way, obstacles that adults would have a hard time dealing with," he said.

"Yet they have managed to become leaders in their schools, not only in the classroom, but in extracurricular activities, and after school where many of them had to take to roles that are usually filled by adults."

James Harris, another top winner, took on the additional responsibility of providing for his younger sisters after his mother's death. The Bryan County High School senior doesn't make the top grades. Instead, he works hard for B's.

He said he's been so diligent because that's what his mother would have wanted. He said he also needed to set an example for his younger sisters Sara and Sondra.

His teacher, Joe Holloway Jr., helped as well.

"He has always been a friend to me and my family and I am forever grateful and will never forget the times I had in his class," James wrote.

The final top award winner, Tracey Illingworth, also overcame adversity. After a spat with her parents, the Groves High senior has had to deal with occasional homelessness. Nonetheless, she finished her high school courses a semester early.

Her art teacher Catriona Schaefer played a key role in her perseverance. Everyone else looked at Tracey's leather jacket and boots and thought, "Here comes trouble." Schaefer was different. "She thought it was cool."

While the 60 student honorees reflected a remarkable diversity in terms of accolades achieved and obstacles overcome, including Benedictine's Conor Close, whose senior year in New Orleans was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, their teachers reflected a more common quality: an unflinching dedication to success in the classroom and in the wider world.

Schaefer took the time to drive Illingworth to Atlanta where the student's work was on display.

Liberty County High School senior Justin Mincey recognized his third grade teacher Dorothy Phillips because he remembered how proud she made him feel when he won a national handwriting contest.